Patient handling table

ABSTRACT

A TABLE TOP IS SUPPORTED IN CANTILEVER FASHION FROM TWO SPACED APART VERTICALLY MOVABLE POSTS WHICH ARE GUIDED IN UPRIGHT COLUMNS. A CROSS GUIDE EXTENDS BETWEEN THE COLUMNS AND IT SUPPORTS A CARRIAGE FOR BIDIRECTIONAL LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENTS. OPPOSITE ENDS OF A CHAIN ENGAGE THE POSTS AND THE CHAIN RUNS OVER GUIDE SPROCKETS ONE OF WHICH IS CARRIED BY THE CARRIAGE. THE CARRIAGE SPROCKET IS SELECTIVELY LOCKABLE AND RELEASEABLE SO THAT WHEN THE CARRIAGE IS TRANSLATED BY SUITABLE POWER MEANS THE TABLE ELEVATES. RELEASE OF THE CARRIAGE SPROCKET PERMITS THE TABLE TO BE INCLINED LONGITUDINALLY IN EITHER DIRECTION BY PRESSING OR LIFTING ON EITHER END THEREOF.

United States Patent Feiertag June 28, 1974 PATIENT HANDLING TABLE Primary ExaminerCasmir A. Nunberg 75 Inventor: Orrin G. Feiertag, Milwaukee, Wis. HOhenfeldt; Fred [73] Assignee: General Electric Company, v

Schenectady, NY. 22 Filed: Nov. 15, 1972 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 306,827 A table top is supported in cantilever fashion from two spaced apart vertically movable posts which are guided in upright columns. A cross'guide extends be- [52] US. Cl 5/63, 5/81, 108/147 tween tbs columnsand i Supports a carriage f0r bidi [51] Int. Cl A6lg 7/10 rectiona] longitudinal movements Opposite ends of a [58] Field of Search 5/63, 8l, 86; 108/137, Chain engage the posts and the chain runs Over guide 108/143 147; 269/323 sprockets one of which is carried by the carriage. The carriage sprocket is selectively lockable and release [56] References c able so that when the carriage is translated by suitable UNITED STATES PATENTS power means the table elevates. Release of the car- 3,290,700 I2/l966 Barecki et al.... 5/63 riage Sprocket Permits the table to be inclined longitu- 3.317931 5/1967 Benoit et a1. 5/63 dinally in either direction by pressing or lifting on ei- 3,493,245 2/1970 Nabinger 5/86 X ther end thereof. 3,510,886 5/63 5/1970 Benoit et al.

1 14 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUN28 I974 SHEEI 1 OF 5 FBGA EOE

SHEET 3 BF 5 PATENTEDJUN28 I974 PATENTEDJUN28 1974 SHEET t [If 5 A I; 1 CD x 64 k FIG. 8

FICMO PATENTEnJunze m4 SHEET 5 [IF 5 1 PATIENT HANDLING TABLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION diagnosis or treatment such as to a place where diagv nostic x-ray apparatus is located.

SUMMMARY OF THE INVENTION The new table comprises a pair of end trucks which have casters so that the table may be pushed manually. The end trucks support spaced apart hollow vertical columns which serve as guides for posts which are vertically movable in the respective columns. Arms extend in cantilever fashion from the posts and these arms support a table top between them. The table top pivotally engages one arm and slidably engages the other to compensate for the distance change between its points of support when one post is elevated more or'less than the other. In other words, the table top may be raised in a truly horizontal attitude if desired, or after so raising, one or the other ends of the top may be depressed to raise or lower the foot or head end of the patient as required. The table top may also be raised and lowered when it is angulated.

In one embodiment the posts are moved simultaneously by a chain whose opposite ends are fastened to the posts and which runs over suitable sprockets one of which is journaled on a carriage that is adapted to translate on a suitable guide member extending between the columns. Means are provided to lock the sprocket on the carriage so that if the carriage is translated both posts will rise at the same rate. Release of the locking means and the sprocket on the carriage after the table is elevated horizontally somewhat permits independent vertical movement of the support posts and enables tilting the table longitudinally so that the foot end is higher than the head end or vice versa. The table top overhangs its supporting structure laterally so as to provide a space for disposing an X-ray tube on one side of the table top and an image intensifier or other fluoroscopic device on the other side for the purpose of making a preliminary diagnosis or,- for example, to set a fractured bone.

A general object of this invention is to provide a mobile patient handling table or trauma cart which affords maximum versatility and convenience in respect to handling, transporting, diagnosing and treating a patient.

A further object of this invention is to provide a patient handling table which permits angulating a patient longitudinally on the table top with minimum effort and with an assurance that the top will remain in the desired or set angulated position.

Another object is to provide means affiliated with the supporting posts on which items needed by medical attendants may be deposited and which means do not change their attitude in a manner that would cause the itemsto fall off even though the table top itselfis angulated.

2 A further object is to provide a table which permits quick angulation of a patient thereon so as to relieve congested breathing passages or, when the patient is faint, to return blood to the cranial region.

Still further objects of the invention are to provide a patient handling table that is simple in construction, is

rigid but light so that it can be moved easily manually,

permits facile transfer of a patient to or from a support such as a bed or an x-ray table, which is easy to operate and which is so constructed that it can be used as an x-ray table in conjunction with an x-ray tube and an x-ray visualizing device.

How the foregoing and other more specific objects of the invention are achieved will appear in the more detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the new table which will be set forth shortly hereinafter in reference to the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the mobile table in which the table top is shown in solid lines in its lowermost position and in phantom lines in its angulated and uppermost horizontal positions;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view taken from the left end of FIG. 1 with the post supported table top being shown him elevated position in phantom lines;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the trucks on which the table is supported;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the table top and its supporting arms showing how the top may pivot and slide on said anns when the top is angulated;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the table to facilitate explanation of the means for elevating the table top and for angulating it manually;

- FIG. 6 is an alternative embodiment of table angulating and elevating means;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of the table and showing the general arrangement of the parts;

FIG. 8 is a rear elevation view of a carriage, a fragment of a longitudinally extending support beam therefor, and a fragment of a hydraulic cylinder for translating the carriage;

FIG. 9 is a vertical section of the carriage and its support means taken on a plane corresponding with 9-9 in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of some of theparts which are used to effect release and engagement of a sprocket which is carried on the carriage;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary rear view of the manner in which one of the table supporting post cooperates with chain omitted from the sprocket;

' FIG. 15 is a fragmentary partial section view of the manner in which the lower end of a table supporting post cooperates with its hollow vertical guide column; and

FIG. 16 is a vertical section taken from the right side of FIG. 15 and showing how the support posts are fur- 4.'The table-top inclines in the opposite direction ther guided in the columns and how the lifting chain is attached to the supportposts.

DESCRIPTION or A PREFERRED'EMBODIMENT;

Refer to FIGS. 1-3 for a general description of the new mobile tableaThe table comprises end trucks 10 and 11 which have casters such as 12 and 13'to.facili-' 1 tate moving the table ,on the floor. Supported'inoneof the endtrucks is a manually operable ,hydraulic'pumo. not shown, which may be pumped'with a foot treadle.

14 to raise the table when required as willbe explained. Also provided is a hydraulic pressure releasevalve, not shown, which allows the table to be lowered under the influence of gravity when a spring-returntreadle 15 is actuated by the operator's foot. There is anothertrea-H dle 16 which may be depressed by the operators foot when, it is desired to incline the'top of thetable longitudinally as will be explained.

, In FIG. 1 one may see that the table comprises a flat top 17 which is supported in cantilever fashion on short arms 18 and 19 which project toward each othernThe arms are supported-on posts 20 and 21 which are adaptedjto move vertically both jointly andindependently. This enables the top to be raised horizontally as suggested by its phantom representation 17' in FIG. 1 and it also permits either of the supporting posts 20 or ported on arms27' and 2s arenot disposed to fall off' or change their angularity wherrthe table top is changed from a horizontal to'an angulated attitude.

. FIG. 2 one may see that the table top 17 overhangs the 21 to be forced downwardly so that the table top'may be inclined in either longitudinal direction assuggested by the phantom line representation 17" in FIG. 1.

As can be seen in FIGS. land 4, the table-top 17 is provided with laterally spaced apart side'mernbers such as 22 which are part of a table top frame. The top is provided with a patient supporting panel 23wh ich.is

preferably x-ray transparent. Corresponding ends. of the side frame members 22-are provided with notches 24 which rest on a'transverse pin 25that extends laterally from-the from supporting arm 1810 its counterpart at the rear. This allows the top l7'to pivot on pin125 when'post 20 israised to impart inclination to the top as illustrated by its phantom representation 17" in FIG. when post 2lis raised higher than post 20.

Theother ends of side frame members 22 rest'on a shaft 26"which is preferably provided withrolle'rs. The sliding action between the side frame members 22 and the rollers on shaft 26 precludes the. table top support ing posts 20'and 21 from being drawn towardeach other when the table top is inclined longitudinally. The

pin and hook support at one end of the table top and the freely slidable support at the other end also facilitates removal of the table top from its support.

Note in FIGS. 1 and 2 that there are an'ns 27 and 28 extending'longitudinally outwardly in opposite directions from their associated inwardly extending cantilever support arms 18 and 719,,respectively. The arms 27 serve as handles for pushing the table on. its casters and for engaging it for the purposeofiangulating the top 17 longitudinally. The arms 27 and 28 are adapted for supporting trays on which items may be stored that are required fortreating or otherwise'atte'nding a patient on the table top and, for example, the arms; may support intravenous feeding apparatus,.not shown An important feature of this arrangementis thatthearms-27 and is subject to being selectively lockedand \r e'leasecl forVv rotation when it isdesi'redtoprevention permit tablev and 28 have cross rods 29 and 30, respectively, which 28 always remain. horizontal and do not angulate even though the tabletop 17 is angulated. Thus, articles supend trucks 10 and 11 so as to define 'a space 35. This space permits introduction of an x-ray'tube,;n0t shown, and an x-ray' image intensifier or fluoroscopic. device, not shown, respectively above or belowthe table top to facilitate x-ray diagnosis without movingthepatient to a conventional diagnostic x-ray'table; Because the table top overhangs the floor trucks, the top may be posi- 7 tionedover a bed or the like at substantially the height of thebed to enable transferring a patient toor from a bed with minimum discomfort. V

' The manner in whichthe tabletop 17 is raised, low ered and angulated will now be described in. general terms in reference to the FIG. 5 schematic representationof thetable. As explained earlier, there'are two supporting posts 20 and 21 for the table top '1; 7'. Post 2 0 is movable vertically in a'stationa'ry column 3.3 and post;

21 is vertically movable in a similar longitudinally spaced apart column34. The posts 20 and 21 may be elevated with a chain 40 or other suitable flexiblemember. One end 'of the chain 40 -ijsfastened at. 41' near the bottom end 'ofpost20. The other" end of the Chain/i8 fastened" at 39 near the bottomv end ofpost 21. The

chain runs over a series of sprockets 42, 43,44 and 45. The shafts of sprockets 42-44 are fixed so that'the' sprockets may rotate on them. Sprocket 45, however, is rotatably mounted on a carriage 47 and this sprocket top angulation, respectively. Carriage 47 is mounted for being shifted longitudinally and bidirectionallyi by means of a single acting hydraulic cylinder 48in this example. The cylinder is mountedstationarilyronthe" table. The cylinder 'hasnan internal piston 49 from" which a rod 50 extends to engage'carriage47 by means of locking nuts such as 51'. Pressurized hydraulic fluid is delivered to cylinder'48 by'meansofa tube 52 which leads to a hydraulic pump, not shown, which pump is foot operated by means of treadle .14 When cylinder. I 48- ispressurized, piston 49 moves to theleft as viewed in FIG. 5 and carriage 47 moves withit, assuming that I sprocket 45 on the carriage is locked againstrotation. Movement of carriage 47' to the left puts chain sections 53 and 54' and the restof thechai'n is substantially, equal tension so that theposts 20 and 21 are raised'uni formly, thusmaintaining the; table top in a level attitude. The posts 20 and 21-and the table top 17 may be raised until they reach safety stops, not showmafter which a relief valve, not showmonthe foot operated hydraulic pump isopened to preclude. excess pressuriization of the hydraulic cylinder 48..Thetable, top and its supporting posts 20' and 21 may be allowed to d'escend under the influence ofgravity'by opening a bleeder valve, not shown, assoicat'edwiththe hydraulic I" pumpand operableby foot treadle 1-5. Throttling otthe bleeder valve permits lowering the table at acontrolled rate. (If course,.when-. and21 descend; while E bleeder valve is open, the vertical force of the posts puts the chain 40 in tension and causes carriage 47 to be restored to its initial position as shown in FIG. 5. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that hydraulic cylinder 48 could be replaced by any suitablecarriage drive means such as a lead screw engaging a threaded .member, not shown, on the carriage or a driven drum on which there is a cable, not shown, that is attached to carriage 47 could be used. A brake might also be required with the latter arrangement.

The table top 17 may be inclined longitudinally through opposite angles of inclination after the posts 28 and 21 are raised some distance. The preferable mode of operation is to raise the tabletop horizontally as just described and then to release carriage sprocket 45 for rotation. Merely releasing the carriage sprocket will not cause the table to descend since the sections of the chain extending from the sprocket 45 to their respective points of attachment on the posts, remain in equal tension. After releasing sprocket 45 for rotation by means which will be described, the table topmay be angulated longitudinally in either direction by manually pushing down or pulling up on the handles 29 or 30 at opposite ends of the table. Assuming that a downward manual force is applied to hand-1e 29 when the posts and 21 are elevated and sprocket 45 is unlocked, post 21 will descend and cause tension on chain 40 as a result of the attachment of the chain to post 21 at point 39. Resulting rotation of sprocket puts tension on the section of the chain starting at 54 and leading to point 41 where the chain is attached to post 20. This causes post 20 to be lifted by an amount equal to that through which post 21 descended and the table top 17 inclines as if there were a laterally extending axis of rotation through the center of the table top 17. From the description of this one mode of operation, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the table is adapted for being tilted longitudinally by pressing on either handle 29 or 30 and that the action of the chain will be similar.

The carriage 47 does not tend to translate when the table is being tilted because the hydraulic bleeder valve is allowed to remain closed at this time so as'to preclude piston 49 from moving. When the table top is tilted or angulated to the desired angle, carriage sprocket 45 is locked automatically when foot pressure on treadle 16 is relieved and the top will remain in its set angular position. The table top can be raised or lowered even though it is angulated. The locking and release mechanism will be described hereafter.

The details of the carriage 47 as viewed from the rear of the table in an actual embodiment will now be discussed in reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, primarily. The carriage 47 comprises a plate member from which a member 61 extends laterally. Attached to the lateral member 61 by welding or other suitable means is a vertically extending member 62 which has spaced apart legs 63 and 64 defining an opening 65 between them. The carriage is equipped with wheels 66-69. These wheels run on upper and lower tracks 70 and 71, re spectively, which are fastened to a beam member 72 which extends longitudinally of the table substantially between stationary post guide columns 33 and 34. The threaded rod 50 of hydraulic cylinder 48 engages carriage 47 .by means of a lug 73 which forms part of the carriage. A laterally extending shaft 75 is journaled by means of bearings 76 and 77 which latter are supported respectively in carriage members 68 and 62. Selectively lockable sprocket 45 is fixed on shaft 75 in the space between members 68 and 62. At the left of member 68 in FIG. 9, shaft 75 has a rotatable latchable element which in this embodiment is a notched disk 78 fixed on it so that disk 78, shaft 75 and sprocket 45 will either rotate or stop together. Disk 78 is provided with several equally circumferentially spaced radial notches 79. The disk is prevented from rotating by a latching element which in this embodiment is a pivotal lever which is shown engaged with a notch 79 in solid lines in FIG. 9 and is designated 80 where it is shown in phantom lines and rotated to a position where it does not engage any notch in disk 78. Lever 80 is biased toward engagement in a notch 79 by means of a pair of springs 81 and 82 which have one of their corresponding ends attached to member 61 and their other corresponding ends attached to locking lever 80.

The disk locking lever 80 is disengaged from the disk notches by a torsional force applied to the square portion of a rod 81 which extends longitudinally of the table for a distance at leastas great as the maximum travel of the carriage 47. Locking arm 80 extends from a'cylinder 82 in which there are bronze bushings 83 that have a central square hole so that when rod 81 is rotated, locking lever 80 will be driven downwardly as depicted in FIG. 9 and will be released from the notch 79 in which it is engaged. Rod 81 is further journaled for rotation in bearings 84 and 85 which are supported in the downwardly depending legs 63"and 64 of carriage member 62. The arrangement allows arm 80 to translate or slide along square rod 81 with carriage 47. Thus, locking leverarm 80 may be rotated to a disengaged position by a torsional force on rod 81 regardless of the longitudinal position of carriage 47. As explained earlier, carriage sprocket 45, which is under control of the notched disk 78, is selectively releasable to permit longitudinalangulation of the table top. Springs 81 and 82, of course, automatically restore lever 80 to a locking position when torsional force is removed from rod 81 by virture of foot operated treadle 16 being released. The manner in which the treadle operates rod 81 will now be described.

There are preferably foot treadles such as 16 at each end of the table so that rod 81 may be turned from either end to release the carriage for tilting the table top 17. The sprocket release operating mechanism is shown in FIG. 18. One may see that rod 81 extends into a bearing structure 88 to permit rotation of the rod. Extending from rod 81 is a lever arm 89 which has a cable 911 fastened to it by any suitable fastening means such as an eye and screw 91. One end of cable 90 is also fastened to the end of lever 92, which is shown fragmentarily in FIG. 10 and which lever is rocked by stepping on foot treadle 16 that is fastened to it. A downward pull on cable 96 by lever 92 causes rotation of rod 81 and release of the locking arm 80 from slotted disk 78 in carriage 47, thereby releasing sprocket 45 for rotation. When the operators foot is removed from the treadle, as explained earlier, springs 81 and 82 cause restoration of locking arm 80 in the slotted disk 78 automatically. This prevents inadvertent changing of the table tops angular position since the chain is then unable to yield in either direction.

The relationship of certain parts of the table may be seen best in an actual embodiment depicted in FIG. 7. Here one may see that the support columns 33 and 34 7 are attached respectivelyfto the end trucks l and 11. The front panel 31 is removed from this view for clarity. The manner in which post is guided in column 33 'is'similar to the manner in which post 21*is' guidedin column 34 so onlythe former will be described in reference to FIGS. ll-l6, primarily. Onemayseethat the chain sprocket 42 in'FlG. 1 1 is journaled on a block 92 that is in turn fastened on the outside of column33.

The column is slotted so that chain 40 maypass into it and down the side of thecolumn tothe place where'thei' end of the chain 40 is fastened at 41 nearthe lower end of post 20 as can be seen particularly well in FIG; 16;

There are various rollers installed in column 33 for guiding and holding post 20 in proper alignment. For

instance, there are upper rollers93andi94, see. FIGS. 11 and 13, which are rotatable on'a shaft 95 mounted in a block 96 which is fastened to column 33. End cap 97 conceals the mechanism. Therearealso side rollers 98 and 99 supported on a block -100'near the-top of column 33. Nylon strips, not shown, may also be interdisposed or angulated' as the may be.

stood'that in this case again other motor means may be used for translating carriage 47 in selectively opposite directions to raise the table top while it is horizontally Thoseskilled in the mechanical arts will now appreciate that in either of the embodiments acable system could be used in place of'a chain; toelevate and lower the table supporting posts by moving the carriage.

Other wheel means, suchas pulleysinstead'of sprock- ,7 V I, ets, would be employed to guide the cable. Moreover,

means'might have to be used for clamping the cable to the carriage sprocket to avoid possible slippage when the carriage pulley is locked. By a suitable arrangement of the pulleys or sprockets the carriage could be permitted tomovein somethingother than a horizontaldi I I I rection as in the illustrative embodiments. A spring bi-. ased pawl on the carriage could also .beused as a latchposed between post 20' and column 33 for guiding the post within the column. Any suit-able anti friction guide 7 means will serve the purpose aslongas the guide means keep the posts 20 and 21 parallel at all times.

7 As can be seen in FIGS; 15 and 16 there arelalso lower guide rollers 101 and- 102 mounted on a fixed shaft 103near the lower end of post 20. Further guid anceis obtained by rollers 104 and 105 which are carried on a shaft mounted in a block 106 that is bolted onto post 20. Each of the posts 33 and 34 have a stop I follow.

pin such as 107 extendingacross them to. establish the r lower limit of' travel of the tablesupporting posts,"see 7 FIGS. 15 and16.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a table similar to theone which has been-described but modifiedinsofar as the table driving chain and carriage is concerned. In FIG. 6, parts that are the sameas those in the previously describedembodiment are given the same reference numeral. The FIG. 6 arrangement of chain'is such that the support posts 20 and 21 are prevented to liftup on the'posts when'sprocket islocked. I The FIG. 6 embodiment is provided with some additional sprockets 108-113 and an additional section of chain 40. The oppositeends of chain 40.. are attached; at 41 and 39 to posts 20 and '21, respectively, similarly f to the manner in which the upper chain 40 is attached. In the previous embodiment, if an operator lifted up post 20, for example,-the section: of chain 40extending upwardly from attachment point 41 wouldflex or loose its tension and the other post 21 would not raise but post 20 could drop down to restore chain tension. In the FIG. 6 arrangement, if post 20 is lifted alone and if sprocket 45 is locked, a force is transmitted from the attachment point 41 through added chain 40 to attach-. ment point39 on post 21 attempting to-pull it down-' ward. However, this motion is prevented since chain. section 54 is not free to move because sprocket 45 is locked...'lherefore, vertical motion can be given to-post- 20 or-2l only if sprocket '45 is released. If the table top 17 is elevated to a horizontal position and it is desired 7 from being pulled up and out if an operator is'inclined to angulate it, sprocket 45 is again released and the table maybe angulated by' pressing down or lifting 'either of its ends by grasping either handle 29 or 30.

In the FIG. 6 embodiment, the carriager47'may be driven with a hydraulic cylinder such as48 as in the; I previously described embodiment but 'itwill be under- I ing element instead of a lever to engage or lock-the 'latchable element such as the'notched disk. The 'pawl i I I could be operated remotely with a cord.

Although a preferred: embodiment of the new table I has been describedin considerable detail, such descrip- I v I '7' V b. means for guiding said vertically movable means, respectively, to follow generally vertical paths of movement, 7 r

c. second bidirectionally' movable means,

d. drive means operatively connected with saidsec- 0nd means to permit forcing said second at least one direction, 7

e. an elongated flexible element attached at different spaced apart "places to said first means, respec-' 'tively, a

f. a plurality of rotatable wheel means for guiding and directing said flexible element, at least one of said wheel means being supported on ,said a second M 7 means and cooperating with said flexible element,

g. means for selectively locking and releasing for ro- 7 :tation said wheel means, movement of saidsecond 1 means in one direction whenasaid'last named wheel means is locked allowing simultaneous vertical 7 movements of said first means and releaseof said wheel means for rotation allowing at least one one of said first means to move vertically to enable angulating said table top longitudinally.

2. Thetable set forth in claim 1 wherein:. r

' a. said elongated flexible element'is a chain and said wheel means which is supportedpon'said second- I said ele entisem,

means is a'sprocket with which gaged,

b. said locking and releasing means including a lock- 7 able element coupled with tion therewith,

c. a locking element that is selectively engageable and disengageablewith respect to said lockable. elk ement to prevent and permit. respectively rotation of said sprocket, and

said sprocket for rota meansin d. means for operating said locking element from a position remote from said second means. 3. The table set forth in claim 1 wherein:

a. said second means is a carriage means and said 4. The table set forth in claim 2 wherein:

a. said lockable element has a plurality of circumferentially spaced slot means defined therein,

b. said locking element is a lever engageable in said slot means,

c. means for biasing said locking lever toward engagement with said slot means in said lockable element, said remote operating means being constructed and arranged to operate said locking lever.

5. The table set forth in claim 2 wherein:

a. said locking element operating means comprises rod means extending along the path of travel of said second means, said locking element being translatable with said second means along said rod means and said locking element being rotatable by rotation of said rod means to effect disengagement of said element from said lockable element.

6. The table set forth in claim 1 including:

a. means supporting said table top near one of its ends for pivotal and releaseable engagement with one of said first means, and

b. means supporting said table top near the other end of its ends for sliding and releaseable engagement with the other of said first means.

7. The table set forth in claim 1 wherein:

a. said locking and releasing means comprises disk means having a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially opening slots, said disk means being coupled to said first means supported wheel means for joint rotation therewith,

b. said supported wheel means being a sprocket,

c. said flexible element being a chain engaged with said sprocket,

d. said locking and releasing means including a lever means translatable with said carriage means.

e. rod means on which said lever means is slidable during movement of said first means, said rod means being engageable with said lever means to turn the same into and out of engagement with said slotteddisk means, and

f. manually operable treadle means mounted on said table and operatively coupled with said rod means for turning the rod means to release said lever means from said disk means.

8. The table set forth in claim 1 including:

a. an additional free-turning wheel means journaled on said first means,

b. asecond flexible element running on said additional wheel means and beingattached at spaced apart points to the respective first means, said flexible elements acting oppositely of each other to prevent upward movement of said posts when at least one of them is subjected to a lifting force while said wheel means is locked.

9. A patient handling table comprising:

a. truck means, a

b. a pair of longitudinally spaced apart vertically movable post means supported on said truck means and a table top supported on and spanning between said post means,

c. a support member extending in the longitudinal direction of said table and supported from said truck means,

d. carriage means mounted for bidirectional movement on said support member,

e. a sprocket journaled for rotation on said carriage means,

f. a plurality of free-turning fixedly mounted sprockets,

g. a chain engaged with said carriage supported sprocket and extending therefrom over said freetuming points of attachment on the respective post means,

h. means for selectively locking and releasing said carriage mounted sprocket against and for rotation, respectively, whereupon when said last named sprocket is locked against rotation movement of said carriage means in one direction will lift both of said post means uniformly and when said sprocket is released one of said posts may be lowered to cause the other of said posts to rise under the influence of said chain to thereby angulate said table top.

10. The table set forth in claim 9 including:

a. a hydraulic cylinder means operatively connected to said carriage means, said cylinder means being adapted for being pressurized to move said carriage means in one direction for lifting said post means and for being relieved of pressure to lower said post means.

11. The table set forth in claim 9 wherein:

a. said carriage mounted sprocket locking and releasing means comprises a lockable element coupled with said last named sprocket for joint rotation therewith,

b. locking means mounted on said carriage means and biased for engagement with lockable element, and

c. means for overcoming said bias and thereby releasing said locking means from engagement with said lockable element, whereby to permit angulation of said table top.

12. The table set forth in claim 11 including:

a. rod means extending along the line of carriage travel,

b. said locking element being slidably engaged with said rod means and being rotatable in response to rotation of said rod means, whereby turning said rod means will release said locking element from said lockable element. 4 j

13. The invention set forth in claim 9 wherein:

a. said locking and releasing means comprises a disk means having circumferentially spaced apart radially open slots, said disk means being coupled for joint rotation with said carriage mounted sprocket,

b. anaxially rotatable elongated element extending along the path of carriage movement,

c. a lever biased toward engagement in a slot of said disk means and associated with said carriage means and engaging said elongated element slidably but non-rotationally, whereby axial rotation of said elongated element will effect rotation of said lever and release of said carriage mounted sprocket 141A patient handling tablefcomprisingz, ,7

means in any operable position of said carriage means. 7 V e a. spaced apart means,-

b. first means which are ver'tically' movable on" said 1 f. an elongated flexible element which is attached at spaced apart points to eaehof saidfirst means, re-

-, V spectively, a portionofsaid flexible means intermedia'te said I points of attachment 'runningjoh said wheel means; whereupon translation; Of: said i elee ment when said wheelmearrs islloe'ked will result a in each of said first means being raised or lowered equally to thereby maintain said tabletop in a constant attitude, and whereupon when said wheel means is released for rotation said flexible element may run thereon to enable one of said first means I to assume a different position on its associated support element than the other to thereby enable angulation of said table top.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE (IE'R'IEFHJATE (HP (10RRECTEON Patent N 3,820,176 wllmflm Inventor(s) Orrin G. Feiertag It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Claim 1, column 8, paragraph (9% line 53 delete "one",

second occurrence.

Claim 14, column 11, paragraph (a) line 4 after "apart" insert -support---.

Signed and sealed this 12th day of November 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

-dcCOY M. GIBSON JR. C. MARSHALL DANN ittestimg Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM PC4050 (10-69) I U5cMM Dc 603764369 0: 0.5, covzmmsm PRINTING orncz: Iss9 o-sas-sn. 

